Former Egyptian PM's Corruption Trial Starts

Former Egyptian prime minister Atef Obeid and other officials went on trial, Sunday, on charges of illegally selling a Nile-River island nature reserve to Hussein Salem, an Egyptian businessman close to deposed president Hosni Mubarak, according to Reuters. Salem is being held on an international arrest warrant in Spain, where he fled following the "January revolution", which led to Mubarak's ouster, and is being tried in absentia.

Also on trial are former agriculture minister Youssef Wali and three other senior officials. They all denied the charges during Sunday's hearing. The next hearing is scheduled for November 19th. The allegations center around the island of Al-Bayadiya, near the major tourist centre of Luxor